Essential Oils

Yes, it happened. The dreaded HFMD that I’d only heard spoken of in hushed tones, and yes, it was as bad as everyone made it out to be. For those of you that don’t know, let me fill you in on this glorious disease.

The first time I got mastitis, it felt like I got hit by a truck. For someone who never gets sick, this one left me flat on my back in bed, hardly able to stand on my legs to walk to the bathroom. It felt like the flu, with a fever, and major pain in my breast--making breastfeeding an excruciating chore.

With the teething territory comes the drool. Some days are worse than others where the drool is actively dripping (there's a great visual for you, I know) but most of the time it just covers his chin because he's chewing on his teething toys all the time. Because of this, he's developed a red, rash on his chin. It doesn't seem to bother him, but it doesn't look very comfortable either.

Who remembers as a kid getting crusty stuff behind your ears, that you would naturally scrape off, only to discover it left your ear bright red, smarting, and pained? Youch! I can still remember the feeling! So when I found some behind my baby's ear this week, I made sure NOT to remove it!

Instead, I took out doTERRA's Correct-X Essential Ointment--an all natural, multi-purpose ointment that helps soothe distressed skin. This ointment hydrates, purifies, and conditions the skin--all things I thought would be helpful for my little guy's ears.

Thankfully Judah has not had many ailments that besiege infants, but he has had some minor cradle cap. Cradle cap is a build-up of oil on the scalp causing minor dermatitis. It does not seem to bother babies, but I'm not one to leave gunk on his head, so I pulled out my trusty oils to relieve his skin.

I have been so thankful for midwife, Stephanie Fritz' book, Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth, and Babies while I've been pregnant. I also love The Essential Life. I've made multiple lists for each trimester using Fritz' suggestions, and it's so nice to have on hand when I encounter different health "perks" or pregnancy. I highly recommend either book if you are looking for a natural approach to your pregnancy health.

Today, I tried to pick keys for my songs quite pathetically as my voice slid all over the scale because well, my voice hasn't been working too well this week. I did a Google search and found an angel posted a recipe for a singer's throat spray! I decided it was worth a shot and tried it out.

I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't burn even though it had On Guard and Oregano in it. I was MORE amazed that as soon as I sprayed down the hatch I started hitting the notes. Whoa. Sign me up for this stuff!

As you may have read from my last post about comparing cleanses, Reagan and I decided to do the doTERRA Cleanse/Renew program this past month. We finished this week, and I'm happy to share the results!

I've been bit by the cleanse bug again. I'm ready to restart my system and start hacking away at those newlywed pounds before we head off to Alaska for an anniversary cruise in a few months. I've had a few friends that do cleansing through Shakeology and Arbonne, and I wanted to compare them to doTERRA's products to see which is most beneficial.

I (Tabitha) am so thrilled you are ready to embark on this amazing journey with us. You will soon become one of many who are able to share how essential oils have made an impact in your life. I have been using them for over three years and have never regretted my first purchase! Below you will find contact information so I can help you get set up with whatever will best fit your needs.

As I begin to get ready to become a homemaker, my research on chemical free cleaning supplies has moved up on my to do list. I have found since using essential oils, my interest about gluten free eating, and a more naturally healthy lifestyle has grown. I ordered some glass spray bottles from AromaTools.com, and got out my essential oils to help put together some natural, environment healthy, successful working cleaning sprays

Is there anything worse than vomit? I don't think there is. I have an irrational fear of it. If I hear the noise of it or see it happen in a movie, my stomach clenches, and I start to feel sick. One of the biggest things I was afraid of when I became a teacher was having to deal with this up close and personal.

Flu season is upon us. I dread the very mention of it. For some reason, I always associate it with December, but every year I seem to have students that start getting sick in January. On Tuesday I had a student absent who returned the next day to tell me, "Miss Neal, I wasn't here yesterday because I threw up." A voice inside my head was screaming, "Then why are you here today!?"

As a high stress person who thrives on busyness and being an overachiever, I have been plagued with something known as chronic tension headaches. Basically, it's a stress-induced headache with a throbbing in the temples mostly and often at the base of the neck. I have had tension headaches every day since about college. Because they were a daily occurrence, I just accepted them and learned to live with the pain. Ibuprofin used to work, but their frequency lead to an inability to do anything more than dull the throb. That is...until I was introduced to essential oils. I've mentioned before of my skepticism when trying the oils, but the first time I tried them, I got instant results in all three areas I was attempting to heal. One of those areas was my tension headache.

I had never done hot yoga before, but after researching it I discovered that the toxin release is huge. I worried about being left weak afterwards because I'm sure there's plenty of toxins in my body since I [ahem] never work out. I immediately thought of my Lemon Essential Oil. That has always been the one I've heard referred to as helping release toxins. It's why it's used in cleaning a lot.

Last night I was using peppermint on the back of my hand, and thoughtlessly tried to wipe a smudge of eyeliner up with my finger before I had cleaned up properly. I'm sure you've never done anything of the sort, so I'll enlighten you on the feelings that ensued.

As a teacher, I do have a fairly good immune system as a result of being exposed to germs 5 days a week by means of "my" 5-year-olds. I thought I was amply prepared this time because I've been using Balance on my feet every morning, and remembering to take my vitamins...not to mention the extra drop of On Guard on my toothbrush with my On Guard toothpaste every morning and night. But what I didn't plan on, was catching something from my man who had just gotten off the plane where there are probably more germs than I ever come into contact with in my classroom.

Did you know that alcoholic based hand sanitizer has 62%-65% ethanol in it? If a small child ingested just 2 ounces, it would be like him drinking 3 shots of tequila. Yikes! If you think of how often a child's hand goes in his mouth, it's enough to make you a little more than wary of that easy-access squirt bottle.